Sunday, October 20, 2013

A synthesizer that cannot surpass itself in its operation oppresses the musician and music. Open source hardware, code, and 3rd party expansion systems, like Eurorack, are the only true way to progress and free the future for experimentation. Shareable software code and distributing schematics is the only way forward to freedom. Companies that do not allow the user to surpass function are holding the user back.

How many times, and how many years, have you waited for a company to update the firmware, only for them to release a brand new product?

It is true that you could buy a single module with many options and be happy with it. The notes and tones could be mathematically unlimited. However, it is still a static system that never changes, with a similar timbre. Its functions are always similar. The music making that comes from it will always take the same mechanical path.

Closed systems are Minimalist. Minimalism died when it could not free the user and take them to new heights. It held them back in a simple state that did not expand their thought. We dislike corporations that do not follow new ways of doing things and take risks. We dislike it when they keep secrets and only let them expand for a fee, and through them. Minimalism is for children. Minimalist, closed systems are a thing of the past.

When you create a project (like a new synthesizer) you are projecting your values and your lifeblood onto it. The only way to empower your user is to make a free and open system. It is time to revolutionize music again.